Of  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

1 FEB  1915 


Extracts  From  The  Proceedings  of  The 
Conference  on  Taxation  of  The  Six- 
teenth Conference  For  Education  in 
The  South  .... 


RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA,  APRIL  17-18,  1913 



Issued  by  the 

LEGISLATIVE  REFERENCE  BUREAU 
OF  VIRGINIA 


RICHMOND: 

DAVIS  BOTTOM,  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PUBLIC  PRINTING 

1914. 


5F15DIRECT  Gif  I 


59 


| Conference  on  Taxation 

LU  

State  Capitol,  Hall  of  The  House  of  Delegates 


*Governor  William  Hodges  Mann,  Chairman 

Dr.  Douglas  S.  Freeman,  Secretary. 

APRIL  17-18,  1913. 

1.  Method  of  Securing  Efficient  Assessments. 

T.  S.  Adams,  State  Tax  Commissioner , Wisconsin. 

2.  The  Assessment  of  Real  Estate. 

Lawson  Purdy,  President  Deportment  of  Taxes  and  Assessments , 

New  York  City. 

3.  An  Effective  Assessment  System. 

Chas.  Lee  Raper,  Dean  of  the  Graduate  School , University  of  North 
Carolina. 

4.  How  West  Virginia  Has  Worked  Out  the  Assessment  Problem. 

Fred.  O.  Blue,  State  Tax  Commissioner , West  Virginia. 

5.  Reforms  in  Assessment  in  the  Southern  States. 

Charles  Lee  Raper. 

6.  Resolution  Favoring  Permanent  Tax  Commission. 

7.  Resolutions  With  Reference  to  Raising  and  Apportioning  School  Funds. 

J.  Y.  Joyner,  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  of  North  Caro- 
lina. 

*In  the  absence  of  Governor  Mann,  who  was  ill,  Mayor  George  Ainslie  presided  at  the  beginning,  to  be 
succeeded  by  Lieutenant  Governor  J.  Taylor  Ellyson,  who  presided  over  the  remaining  sessions  of  the 
Conference. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
• in  2017  with  funding  from 
University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/extractsfromprocOOconf 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South. 


5 


METHOD  OF  SEGUEING  EFFICIENT  ASSESSMENTS. 

T.  S.  Adams. 

I will  begin  with  the  platitudinous  statement  that  the  methods 
of  securing  efficient  assessment  work  will  probably  differ  in  different 
places.  This  is  particularly  true  as  between  the  States  which  seek 
reform  through  the  program  of  separation,  and  those  States  which 
seek  reform  through  the  program  of  centralization ; i.  e.,  centraliza- 
tion of  the  assessment  machinery.  While  separation  is  recommended 
by  a majority  of  the  authorities,  I have  had  no  personal  experience 
with  separation.  I do  know,  however,  that  reform  may  be  achieved 
through  the  program  of  centralization.  It  will  be  safer,  then,  for 
me  to  describe  what  I have  seen  and  know. 

I.  Fifteen  years  ago,  in  Wisconsin,  conditions  with  respect  to 
the  assessment  of  property  were  distinctly  bad.  The  State  equaliza- 
tion was  in  the  hands  of  an  ex-officio  board,  consisting  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, State  Treasurer  and  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  at  that  time 
the  State  equalization,  or  State  assessment,  as  it  is  known  in  Wis- 
consin, was  made  at  a lower  figure  than  the  total  of  the  local  asses- 
ments. 

Dissatisfaction  with  this  condition  of  affairs,  together  with  a feel- 
ing that  corporation  taxes  must  be  reformed,  led  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  a permanent  tax  commission,  and  in  1901  the’  tax  commis- 
sion was  invested  with  the  duty  of  making  the  State  assessment,  or 
State  equalization.  The  commission  took  this  work  very  seriously. 
The  law  apparently  contemplated  that  this  equalization  should  be 
made  at  100  per  cent  of  actual  or  true  value,  and  the  commission 
itself  resolved  to  comply  strictly  with  the  law,  although  such  pro- 
cedure was  beset  with  many  grave  obstacles.  More  important  still, 
the  commission  determined  to  make  the  equalization  on  a sound 
foundation  of  concrete  facts.  Instead  of  guessing  at  the  probable 
value  of  property  of  the  various  counties  of  the  State,  they  set  to 
work  to  secure  trustworthy  data.  Thousands  of  sales  of  real  estate 
were  secured ; information  concerning  the  value  of  personal  property 
was  collected  from  the  credit  agencies,  the  statistical  publications 
of  the  State  and  Federal  governments  and  from  other  sources.  At 
that  time  moneys  and  credits  were  subject  to  taxation  in  the  State 
of  Wisconsin.  It  was  almost  impossible  to  find  out  what  the  true 
value  of  the  taxable  moneys  and  credits  was  in  the  several  counties. 
Apart  from  this  difficult  aspect  of  the  problem,  however,  a State 
equalization  was  made  on  the  basis  of  true  value,  as  shown  by  con- 
crete facts.  The  appointment  of  a permanent  tax  commission  and 
the  carefully  studied  preparation  of  the  State  assessment  were  the 


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Conference  for  Education  in  the  South , 


beginnings  of  reform.  The  State  equalization  is  now  satisfactory 
to  the  people  and  to  the  local  districts  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin. 
The  commission  knows  the  facts,  and  the  people  realize  that  they 
know  the  facts.  Complaint  from  disgruntled  counties  that  they 
are  being  forced  to  bear  too  large  a share  of  the  State  taxes  has 
practically  ceased.  The  equalization  of  the  State  tax  commission  is 
accepted  in  good  faith  and  the  incentive  to  local  under-valuation, 
arising  from  the  desire  to  escape  State  taxes,  has  become  an  almost 
negligible  factor  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin. 

IT.  This,  however,  was  but  a small  opening  wedge.  County  taxes 
were  much  heavier  than  State  taxes.  The  State  equalization  did 
i;ot  affect  the  county  taxes.  Moreover,  the  grave  inequalities  between 
individual  taxpayers  still  remain.  To  remedy  this  situation  a county 
supervisor  of  assessments  was  inaugurated  and  set  to  work.  His 
task  was  to  supervise  the  local  assessors  (it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  each  city,  village  or  town  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin 
elects  its  own  local  assessor,  and  in  the  cities  we  are  likely  to  have 
an  assessor  for  each  ward  or  for  each  two  or  three  wards),  to  super- 
vise the  local  assessors  and  to  secure  for  the  county  board  the  infor- 
mation on  which  the  county  equalization  could  properly  be  made. 
The  county  supervisor  of  assessments  did  not  accomplish  much  in 
the  State  of  Wisconsin.  Local  assessors  were  inclined,  in  most 
places  to  treat  him  with  indifference  or  contempt.  The  average 
county  board  did  not  accept  the  equalization  of  property  as  recom- 
mended by  him.  In  many  places  the  supervisor  did  not  gather  the 
necessary  information  upon  which  to  base  a sound  and  trustworthy 
county  equalization.  The  difficulty  all  arose  from  the  fact  that 
the  county  supervisor  of  assessments  was  appointed  by  the  county 
board.  In  most  cases  he  got  the  position  because  he  was  known  in  ad- 
vance to  be  “conservative.”  A better  word  would  be  “pliable”  or  “dis- 
creet.” In  other  words,  the  county  supervisor  of  assessments  was  sub- 
ject to  the  same  influence,  the  same  pressure,  the  same  environment 
which  makes  the  average  local  assessor  timid,  over-cautious  and 
blind  to  the  actual  values  of  the  properties,  particularly  the  larger 
properties,  which  he  is  called  upon  to  assess.  We  shall  come  back 
to  the  county  supervisor  in  a few  moments.  The  official  that  failed 
has  since  become,  in  a different  environment,  the  cornerstone  of  an 
efficient  tax  system.  But  that  is  another  story,  to  which  we  shall 
have  to  return. 

III.  While  experimenting  with  the  county  supervisor  of  assess- 
ments, two  additional  statutes  of  fundamental  importance  were 
passed.  Both  provide  for  appeals  to  the  State  tax  commission.  In 
the  first  case  the  appeal  is  against  the  county  equalization,  as  made 
hv  the  county  board.  When,  upon  complaint  and  investigation,  a 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South 


i 


county  equalization  is  discovered  to  be  inequitable,  the  tax  com- 
mission is  empowered  to  go  into  the  county,  with  its  own  appointees, 
to  secure  the  data  necessary  to  make  a correct  and  equitable  countv 
equalization,  and  to  impose  the  expense  of  this  work  on  those  counties 
which  had  wrongfully  benefited  in  the  first  equalization. 

The  other  statute  authorized  any  tax  payer  who  felt  himself 
aggrieved  by  the  actual  assessment  of  taxes  in  his  district  to  appeal 
to  the  tax  commission,  and  if  it  were  made  plain  that  any  class  or 
classes  of  citizens  or  property  had  been  discriminated  against  in 
the  local  assessment,  and  that  public  interest  would  be  subserved 
by  a reassessment,  that  such  reassessment  could  be  made  by  the  tax 
commission  with  its  own  appointees.  We  may  briefly  refer  to  these 
two  statutes  or  processes  hereafter  as  the  re-equalization,  and  reas- 
sessment laws. 

These  laws  have  been  of  enormous  importance  in  the  recent  fiscal 
history  of  Wisconsin.  In  the  past  there  was  continued  log-rolling 
in  the  several  county  boards  when  the  time  came  to  equalize  the 
county  taxes.  Little  cliques  were  formed,  in  which  the  representa- 
tives of  certain  districts  got  together  in  order  to  reduce  their  own 
by  boosting  their  neighbors’  share  of  the  county  tax.  There  was  strife 
in  the  average  county  between  the  city  members  and  the  rural  mem- 
bers, each  group  trying  to  dump  on  the  other’s  shoulders  taxes  which 
properly  belonged  upon  their  own.  The  equalization  report  of  the 
supervisor  of  assessments  was  more  often  thrown  in  the  waste  basket 
than  not. 

All  this  has  been  changed.  It  soon  became  apparent  that  if  the 
county  equalization  was  seriously  unjust,  some  of  the  aggrieved 
districts  would  appeal  to  the  tax  commission,  and  their  complaint, 
if  just,  would  be  remedied  at  the  expense  of  the  districts  respon- 
sible for  the  injustice.  In  probably  90  per  cent  of  the  counties  at 
the  present  time,  a careful,  conscientious  equalization  of  county 
laxes  is  made.  The  tax  commission  secures  large  amounts  of  infor- 
mation, which  are  supplemented  by  the  work  of  the  supervisor  of 
assessment,  and  this  material,  together  with  statistics  showing  the 
meaning  of  the  material,  is  transmitted  to  the  county  boards  and 
usually  accepted  by  them.  The  equalization  is  based  on  carefullv 
secured  facts  and  is  just.  Until  the  last  few  years,  one  of  the  prime 
reasons  for  poor  local  assessment  work  has  been  the  belief — onlv 
too  well  grounded,  in  many  instances — that  full  value  assessments 
would  lead  to  an  increase  of  county  and  State  taxes.  This  feeling 
is  gradually  disappearing,  rapidly  disappearing.  In  many  instances 
it  may  he  said  to  have  disappeared  altogether.  The  reform  is  ac- 
counted for  by  the  knowledge  that  the  State  and  county  equalizations 
will  be  made  independently  of  the  local  assessments,  and  that  poor 


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Conference  for  Education  in  the  South. 


local  assessment  work  is  more  likely  to  bring  a penalty  than  a 
ence.  No  amount  of  State  or  county  equalization  can  reduce  in- 
equalities between  man  and  man,  between  Taxpayer  A and  Taxpayer 
B.  Here  is  the  gravest  inequality  and  the  most  fundamental.  The 
reassessment  statute  goes  to  this  deep-rooted  evil.  The  common, 
ordinary  taxpayer,  ordinarily  defenseless  before  discriminatory  as- 
sessment work,  has  now  only  to  appeal  to  the  tax  commission  on  a 
postal  card,  and  if  the  records  and  facts  in  the  office  of  the  com- 
mission, or  the  information  which  the  plaintiff  himself  brings  to 
bear,  make  it  plain  that  there  has  been  discrimination  and  that  the 
public  interest  will  be  subserved  by  a reassessment,  such  reassess- 
ment is  made.  The  reassessment  corrective  has  all  the  virtues  of 
commission  procedure.  It  can  be  made  in  the  most  informal  way, 
and  the  plaintiff,  as  well  as  the  defendant,  can  have  as  aid  all  the 
resources  of  a commission  specializing  in  this  line  of  work.  The 
decision  of  the  commission  does  not  rest  on  the  evidence  submitted 
by  the  parties ; it  is  the  duty  of  the  commission  to  help  get  evidence. 

Quite  as  important,  the  reassessment  statute  gives  the  supervisor 
of  assessments  a club  with  which  to  compel  the  most  recalcitrant 
local  assessor  to  do  better  work.  The  supervisor  himself  has  no 
right  to  make  a local  assessment,  but  he  can,  and  frequently  does, 
say  to  a local  assessor,  in  substance : “If  you  continue  in  the  future 
as  you  have  in  the  past,  I will  make  application  for  reassessment, 
and  if  this  is  granted,  3rour  district  will  be  raked  with  a fine-tooth 
comb  at  its  own  expense.” 

And  the  reassessment,  when  made,  is  a splendid  object  lesson. 
Assessment  reform  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin  emanates  from  spots, 
from  distinct  oases,  which  fortunately  are  becoming  more  numerous. 
These  oases  are  the  places  in  which  the  tax  commission  has  in  the 
past  made  reassessments.  They  constitute  proof  positive  to  the 
people  of  the  particular  district  that  a good  assessment  can  be  made, 
that  it  can  be  made  without  prohibitive  expense,  that  it  can  be 
made  resolutely  and  fearlessly,  but  fairly  and  tactfully,  and  that 
the  honest  and  well-disposed  people  of  a community  have  nothing 
to  lose  and  everything  to  gain  by  an  equitable  assessment  at  full 
value. 

IV.  Finally,  in  point  of  time,  as  the  crown  of  the  Wisconsin 
system,  came  the  Wisconsin  income  tax.  We  are  not  now  concerned 
with  income  taxation  as  such.  But  the  Wisconsin  income  tax  accom- 
plished two  collateral  results  of  vital  importance  in  the  assessment 
of  property.  First  of  all,  it  abolished  the  taxation  of  moneys,  credits, 
securities  and  household  furniture,  and  put  in  their  place  an  income 
tax.  By  the  exemptions  noted,  the  assessors  and  the  tax  commission 
were  relieved  of  the  almost  impossible  task  of  assessing  moneys  and 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South 


9 


credits  and  those  forms  of  household  property  which  hardly  have 
any  ascertainable  market  value.  Moreover,  it  reformed  the  prop- 
perty  tax  at  just  that  point  where  it  was  most  inequitable.  To  im- 
pose the  old  property  tax,  which  in  Wisconsin  frequently  exceeds 
2 per  cent,  on  the  face  value  of  moneys  and  credits  which  yield,  we 
may  say,  on  an  average  of  5 per  cent.,  is  to  take  in  taxation,  or 
attempt  to  take  in  taxation,  40  per  cent,  of  the  income  from  this 
form  of  property.  Such  taxation  is  despotic.  It  is  unreasonable. 
It  imposes  on  the  assessor  an  inequitable  and  an  impossible  task. 
We  are  rid  of  this  now  in  Wisconsin,  thanks  to  the  income  tax. 

Most  important  of  all,'  the  income  tax  gave  to  the  State  a set  of 
county  supervisors  of  assessments  who  are  wholly  relieved  from 
illicit  local  pressure  by  reason  of  their  appointment  for  long  terms 
by  the  State  tax  commission  itself,  under  civil  service  tests  and 
conditions.  I said  before  that  the  old  supervisor  of  assessments, 
appointed  by  the  county  board,  had  been  almost  a failure.  The 
new  supervisor  of  assessments,  who  acts  also  as  assessor  of  incomes, 
had  proved  to  be  a striking  success.  The  office  and  the  man  have 
been  transformed  by  the  simple  device  of  protecting  the  man  in 
the  office.  Civil  service  and  the  appointment  by  a State  board  have 
wrorked  the  transformation.  Several  of  the  same  men  who  had 
proved  timid,  ineffective  and  unsuccessful  when  appointed  year  by 
year  by  a county  board,  have  been  distinctly  successful  as  super- 
visors, acting  under  the  tax  commission  and  holding  office  practi- 
cally during  good  behavior.  Under  the  old  regime,  the  whole  pres- 
sure brought  to  bear  upon  this  official  was  to  reduce  assessments, 
to  maintain  the  status  quo , to  be  “lenient,”  “easy,”  “nice.”  Under 
the  present  system  the  pressure  is  all  in  the  opposite  direction.  The 
tax  commission  keeps  after  the  assessors  constantly,  urging  them  to 
obey  the  law  absolutely,  to  be  considerate  and  tactful  to  taxpayers, 
fair  and  impartial,  but  to  be  absolutely  uninfluenced  by  illegitimate 
forms  of  influence  or  local  “pull.” 

V.  It  may  be  worth  while  briefly  to  recapitulate  what  we  have 
just  been  over.  The  Wisconsin  system  starts  with  a locally  elected 
assessor,  attempting  to  make  annual  assessments,  in  some  2,000 
assessment  districts  throughout  the  State.  Fortunately  he  has  now 
to  assess  nothing  more  than  tangible  property.  Practically  noth- 
ing is  subject  to  local  assessment  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  beyond 
real  estate,  merchant’s  and  manufacturers’  stocks,  farm  animals 
and  automobiles. 

The  local  assessors  work  under  the  influence  of  supervisors  of 
assessment,  who  both  supervise  their  work,  make  the  assessment  of 
incomes,  and  secure  data  upon  which  to  base  a scientific  county 
equalization. 


10 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South. 


The  supervisors  of  assessments,  in  turn,  work  under  a permanent 
tax  commission,  each  member  of  which  is  appointed  for  a term  of 
eight  years.  The  tax  commission  itself  makes  the  assessment  of 
most  of  the  public  utility  corporations,  makes  the  State  equaliza- 
tion and  assists  local  assessors  in  the  assessment  of  the  smaller  public 
utilities.  The  tax  commission  maintains  a corps  of  engineers  and 
appraisers,  who  are  used  not  only  in  the  assessment  of  those  corpo- 
rations exempt  from  local  taxation  but  in  assisting  local  assessors 
who  have  particularly  difficult  forms  of  property  to  appraise,  and 
in  securing  the  materials  necessary  for  the  State  and  county  equali- 
zation. 

VI.  Recent  examinations  of  the  tax  commission,  based  upon 
careful  and  extended  study,  indicate  that  taxable  property  in  the 
State  of  Wisconsin  at  the  present  time  is  assessed  at  not  less  than 
73  per  cent,  of  its  actual  market  value.  In  many  districts  in  the 
State  of  Wisconsin  at  the  present  time — not  so  many  as  should  be, 
hut  still  in  a considerable  number — careful  and  equitable  assess- 
ments at  full  value  have  been  made.  I have  briefly  described  the 
path  of  reform  in  the  past  few  years,  because  it  is  difficult,  or 
almost  impossible,  to  state  what  particular  elements  of  this  program 
are  most  accountable  for  the  reform  which  has  been  achieved.  I 
personally,  however,  am  convinced  that,  so  far  as  machinery  goes, 
the  most  important  parts  of  the  Wisconsin  system  are: 

1.  The  appointment  of  supervisors  of  assessments  under  civil 
service  conditions. 

2.  The  reassessment  statute. 

3.  The  existence  of  a permanent  tax  commission,  upon  which 
the  whole  system  above  described  rests. 

So  far  as  methods  go,  the  good  results  achieved  are  to  be  ascribed, 
most  of  all,  to  the  habit  of  basing  findings  on  fact,  to  the  careful 
and  continued  collection  of  concrete  information  such  as  sales  records 
and  inventory  records ; the  use  of  trained  appraisers  and  the  general 
habit  of  substituting  specific  information  for  skillful  guessing. 

Most  important  of  all,  perhaps,  is  the  spirit  in  which  the  tax 
commission  and  the  supervisors  have  worked.  From  these  parts 
of  the  taxing  system  at  least,  politics  has  been  practically  eliminated, 
and  in  these  parts  of  the  system  there  is  a disposition  to  take  the 
office  and  the  task  very  seriously — a feeling  that  a great  evil  exists 
and  that  a great  opportunity  is  at  hand.  It  would  be  hard  to  exag- 
gerate the  last  point.  About  four-fifths  of  the  evil  ascribable  to 
poor  assessment  work  in  the  past  has  been  due  to  indifference,  indo- 
lence and  a deep-rooted  conviction  that  good  work  was  neither  pos- 
sible nor  worth  while. 

VII.  The  methods  which  I have  been  discussing  have  been  tried 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South . 


11 


and  shown  to  be  both  helpful  and  practicable.  Wisconsin,  however, 
had  very  much  to  learn,  very  much  more  to  do,  and  about  these 
remaining  defects  of  the  Wisconsin  system  I can  only  say:  “These 
things,  in  my  opinion,  should  be  done.”  I fervently  wish  that  here 
also  it  might  be  possible  to  describe  progress  actually  achieved. 

At  the  root  of  the  evil  which  still  exists  is  the  underpaid,  over- 
worked, untrained  local  assessor.  Our  local  assessors,  like  those 
in  most  States,  are  elected  for  short  terms,  paid  totally  inadequate 
salaries,  and  in  hundreds  of  districts  are  virtually  warned  in  ad- 
vance that  if  they  perform  their  work  faithfully  they  will  not  be 
re-elected.  The  more  I learn  of  our  local  assessments,  the  deeper 
my  wonder  becomes  that  such  good  work  can  be  done  under  such 
adverse  conditions.  There  are  actually  hundreds  of  conscientious 
local  assessors,  accepting  the  office  year  after  year,  not  because  they 
want  either  the  office  or  the  salary,  but  because  an  appreciative 
local  community  insists  upon  their  retaining  the  job.  In  a very 
large  number  of  districts,  however,  the  office  goes  to  the  inefficient 
man,  who  has  failed  in  other  walks  of  life,  or  to  the  political 
henchman,  who  takes  the  job  primarily  “to  look  after”  his  friends. 
It  is  fatal  to  expect  accurate,  conscientious  assessing  work  under 
such  conditions. 

The  ultimate  remedy  will  probably  be  found  in  the  appointment 
of  local  assessors  by  the  State  tax  commission  or  by  the  supervisors 
of  assessments,  under  civil  service  tests ; their  retention  in  office 
during  good  behavior,  together  with  a compensation  adequate  for 
the  brains  and  backbone  required  in  this  difficult  work.  This  remedy 
would,  in  most  States,  require  a constitutional  amendment.  It  is 
probably  many  years  away.  I personally,  however  am  surprised 
at  the  frequency  with  which  I hear  the  plan  recommended  by  people 
whom  I had  supposed  to  be  indissolubly  wedded  to  so-called  local 
democracy. 

If  it  is  impossible  in  the  near  future  to  appoint  assessors  by 
civil  service  tests,  much  can  be  done  even  now.  First  of  all,  the 
assessor  can  be  appointed  or  elected  for  a much  longer  term.  The 
longer  term  will  enable  the  ignorant  man  to  learn  and  the  timid 
man  to  put  away  from  him  for  a time  the  fear  of  losing  his  office. 
Moreover,  it  would  enable  the  man  to  stick  continuously  by  his  job. 
By  making  the  local  districts  fairly  large,  it  would  be  possible  to 
keep  him  at  work  twelve  months  in  the  year.  Where  the  district 
cannot  be  enlarged,  however,  we  might  still  have  the  long  term,  the 
fairly  permanent  assessor,  by  providing  for  a complete  assessment 
only  once  in  three  or  four  years,  instead  of  as  at  present,  in  inanv 
States,  an  annual  assessment.  Under  the  present  constitution  in 
Wisconsin  we  have  at  least  one  assessor  for  each  town,  city  or  village. 


12 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South . 


We  cannot  enlarge  the  districts  so  as  to  justify  the  use  of  the  whole 
time  of  a well-paid  man.  But  if  we  can  get  a well-paid  man  who 
will  make  a thorough  assessment  once,  say  in  four  years,  and  spend 
two  or  three  months  in  each  year  in  making  such  revision  of  this 
quadrennial  assessment  as  can  be  made  in  two  or  three  months,  we 
should,  with  the  other  features  of  this  system — the  county  super- 
visor and  the  tax  commission — have  achieved  something  which,  if 
not  Utopian,  would  at  least  be  highly  satisfactory. 

To  recapitulate,  the  assessor  must  be  given  time  enough  to  do 
his  work  in  a business-like  way;  he  must  be  retained  in  office  long 
enough  to  attract  the  kind  of  men  who  resent  and  refuse  to  place 
themselves  in  an  office  from  which  they  are  likely  to  be  kicked  as 
soon  as  they  become  efficient;  he  must  be  protected  from  illicit 
local  pressure  and  from  boards  of  review  or  superior  local  officers, 
bent  upon  protecting  some  one  industry  or  some  particular  group  of 
taxpayers.  Finally  he  must,  in  most  cases,  be  paid  reasonable  wages 
for  the  work  which  he  does.  All  these  things  can  he  secured  by  a 
system  which  would  provide  for  a quadrennial  or  triennial  assess- 
ment, to  he  made  by  local  assessors,  appointed  or  elected  for  three 
or  four  years,  paid  adequate  salaries  and  working  under  the  general 
control  of  a permanent  tax  commission,  armed  with  the  powers, 
particularly  those  of  re-equalization  and  reassessment — with  which 
most  of  the  later  State  commissions  have  been  invested. 

What  is  worth  doing  is  worth  doing  well.  That  is  an  old  saw. 
It  requires  to  be  supplemented  with  the  newer  truth  that  what  is 
well  done  must  in  the  ffing  run  be  well  paid  for.  The  only  part  of 
the  general  program  of  this  Conference  about  which  I have  any 
doubt  is  the  part  which  suggests  that  whatever  reform  is  achieved, 
must  be  achieved  without  added  expense.  The  things  which  I have 
described  cost  money.  They  inevitably  result,  to  he  sure,  in  finding 
additional  sources  of  revenue,  which  much  more  than  compensate 
for  the  additional  administrative  expense.  But  the  reform  is  worth 
while,  whether  it  costs  more  or  less,  and  whether  it  results  in  dis- 
covering new  sources  of  revenue  or  not.  However,  the  whole  pro- 
gram can  be  worked  out  without  additional  expense.  If  we  would 
substitute  for  the  annual  assessment  common  in  so  many  American 
States  the  triennial  or  quadrennial  assessment,  we  could  do  well  in 
three  or  four  years  what  we  now  do  most  inefficiently  once  every 
year,  and  at  no  additional  expense.  Moreover,  there  are  many  offices 
which  might  he  completely  abolished  or  consolidated  with  other 
offices,  finding  in  this  substitution  the  means  with  which  to  defray 
the  expense  of  real  reform.  In  Wisconsin,  for  instance,  the  town 
treasurers  do  little  or  nothing’  that  could  not  he  better  done  by  other 
officials  or  parts  of  our  administrative  machine.  We  could  easily 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South. 


13 


save  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin  $100,000  by  abolishing  the  town 
treasurer,  without  impairing  the  machinery  of  collection — indeed, 
while  actually  improving  it.  This  amount  of  money,  in  Wisconsin 
at  least,  devoted  to  the  local  assessment  work,  would  probably  be 
ample  to  accomplish  the  further  and  future  reform  which  has  been 
described. 


THE  ASSESSMENT  OF  REAL  ESTATE. 

Lawson  Purdy. 

Assessing  real  estate  is  a profession,  demanding  technical  skill 
and  experience.  Assessors,  therefore,  should  be  appointed,  not 
elected,  and  should  hold  office  during  their  good  behavior. 

Assessors  should  he  adequately  paid  and  required  to  devote  all 
their  time  to  their  official  duties.  It  follows  that  the  smallest  assess- 
ment district  should  he  large  enough  to  employ  fully  all  the  time 
of  one  assessor,  aided  by  a sufficient  number  of  clerks.  If  a county 
is  adopted  as  the  unit  for  assessment,  a single  assessor  may  be  able 
to  perform  all  the  work,  with  proper  clerical  assistance,  in  many 
thinly  populated  rural  counties.  Too  much,  however,  should  not  be 
demanded  of  an  assessor,  and  there  should  he  a sufficient  number  af 
deputy  assessors  to  do  the  work  efficiently.  Any  man  performing 
the  duties  of  an  assessor  should  give  all  liis  time  to  the  work,  and 
the  compensation  should  he  sufficient  to  obtain  the  services  of  men 
of  proper  ability  and  character. 

Assessments  should  he  made  annually,  in  order  that  the  assess- 
ment may  take  account  of  changes  in  value,  and  in  order  that  the 
assessor  may  be  kept  well  informed  of  all  changes  in  his  district. 

Adequate  tax  maps  are  the  essential  foundation  of  proper  assess- 
ment work.  For  the  lack  of  such  maps,  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
acres  of  land  escape  assessment  throughout  the  United  States  annu- 
ally. Without  maps,  the  assessor  generally  performs  his  work  in 
the  dark ; he  does  not  know  what  he  is  assessing,  and  the  valuations 
are  often  little  better  than  guesses.  Without  maps,  comparisons 
between  assessed  values  are  difficult  and  often  impossible. 

While  maps  based  on  accurate  surveys  are  always  desirable,  and 
in  cities  essential,  good  maps  can  he  made  for  rural  work  at  very 
little  expense.  Such  maps  have  been  made  by  using  the  United 
States  Topographical  Survey  as  the  foundation.  The  method  of 
preparing  such  maps  is  described  by  Mr.  Edward  L.  Hevdecker  in 
a paper  printed  in  the  proceedings  of  the  New  York  State  Tax  Con- 
ference. 


14 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South. 


Assessors  waste  a great  deal  of  time  in  the  search  for  the  actual 
considerations  for  the  sale  of  real  property.  Dealings  in  real  prop- 
erty are  charged  with  a public  interest,  and  the  actual  consideration 
for  sales  should  he  a matter  of  public  record.  Ao  deed  should  he 
recorded  unless  it  contains  or  is  accompanied  by  a statement  under 
oath  of  the  actual  consideration  for  the  transfer. 

It  is  always  desirable,  and  in  cities  it  is  essential,  that  the  value 
of  land,  exclusive  of  the  improvements,  should  be  separately  stated 
in  the  assessment  roll.  This  should  be  required  by  law.  One  of  the 
methods  employed  to  great  advantage  in  assessing  the  value  of  land 
is  to  show,  on  a map  prepared  for  the  purpose,  the  value  per  front 
foot  for  lots  100  feet  deep  on  every  side  of  every  square  in  the  city, 
and  in  the  case  of  unplotted  land,  the  value  per  acre.  Such  maps 
aid  the  assessor  in  his  work  and  furnish  the  best  means  of  publicity 
for  the  work,  to  the  end  that  criticism  of  the  assessment  may  be  in- 
telligently made. 

In  determining  the  value  of  buildings,  the  cost  of  reconstruction 
new  represents  the  maximum  of  value.  The  cost  of  reproduction 
of  all  types  of  buildings  should  be  determined  and  expressed  by  a 
factor  representing  the  value  per  square  foot  of  floor  space.  When 
the  building  is  old,  depreciated  by  wear  and  tear,  or  obsolete,  a suit- 
able reduction  must  be  made  in  the  factor  employed  below  that  factor 
which  would  represent  the  cost  of  reproduction  new.  The  use  of 
building  factors  is  necessary  in  order  that  comparisons  may  be  made 
intelligently. 

Publicity  is  the  safeguard  of  both  the  assessor  and  the  property 
owner.  Land  value  maps  should  be  reproduced  and  published,  or 
in  small  places  be  opened  for  public  inspection,  consideration  and 
criticism.  It  is  generally  desirable  also  that  the  assessment  roll, 
showing  the  value  of  the  land  separately  should  be  published  for  the 
use  of  the  citizen.  Such  publication  must  show  the  assessment  roll 
arranged  geographically;  that  is  to  say,  all  the  lots  in  a city  block 
should  be  shown  consecutively  on  the  four  sides  of  the  block,  and 
the  assessment  for  all  the  blocks  should  appear  in  order  of  position. 
The  same  plan  should  be  followed  in  publishing  the  assessment  roll 
of  the  country  district,  and  in  this  case  the  area  of  the  land  should 
be  shown,  while  in  the  case  of  city  lots  the  dimensions  should  be 
given. 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South 


15 


AN  EFFECTIVE  ASSESSMENT  SYSTEM. 

Charles  Lee  Raper. 

There  are,  I think,  two  prime  objects  of  the  assessment  of  prop- 
erty for  the  purposes  of  taxation:  (1)  To  place  the  maximum  of 
values  upon  the  tax  hooks;  (2)  to  render  the  maximum  justice  to 
each  citizen  as  a taxpayer,  as  a bearer  of  the  burdens  of  the  govern- 
ment. The  State  must  have  sufficient  revenue  to  enable  it  to  per- 
form its  necessary  functions  of  protecting  the  life,  rights  and  prop- 
erty of  its  citizen  and  of  developing1  the  physical  economic  and  social 
conditions  in  which  he  must  live.  Taxation  is  by  far  the  large  source 
of  revenue  to  all  our  units  of  government.  The  system  of  taxation 
of  a people,  therefore,  more  fully  crystallizes  the  effectiveness  or 
ineffectiveness,  the  justice  or  injustice,  of  government  than  any  other 
thing;  the  administration  of  the  tax  system  and  of  the  courts  em- 
bodies the  greatest  and  most  vital  points  in  the  relationship  of  the 
citizen  and  his  government.  The  experiences  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution and  of  the  French  Revolution  abound  in  proofs  of  this 
statement. 

To  secure  these  objects  of  the  assessment  of  taxables  and  of  gov- 
ernment, it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have  a system  of  assessment, 
a machinery,  which  possesses  the  ability  to  know  the  values  and  the 
courage  to  place  them  upon  the  tax  books,  without  discrimination 
and  with  the  utmost  justice  to  all  the  taxpayers.  This  machinery 
must,  I think,  be  both  State-wide  and  local  in  its  composition  and 
in  the  scope  of  its  authority.  (1)  A State  tax  commission,  with 
large  powers  over  all  assessments  and  over  all  the  local  officers  of 
assessment,  can,  I think,  alone  meet  the  requirements  of  the  State- 
wide machinery.  The  term  of  its  office  should  be  from  six  to  eight 
years.  Its  members  should  he  appointed  by  the  Governor — not 
elected;  efficiency  and  justice,  not  politics,  should  be  the  aim  of  all 
assessment.  They  should  be  experts  and  as  non-partisan  as  possible. 
Their  salaries  should  be  large  enough  to  attract  men  who  have  brains, 
character  and  courage,  and  who  can  afford  to  devote  all  their  time 
and  energies  to  their  official  duties — in  the  Southern  States  from 
$3,500  to  $4,000  I think  large  enough.  Wherever  such  a body  has 
worked,  taxation  has  become  more  effective  and  equitable;  more 
revenue  has  come*  to  the  State,  the  rate  of  taxation  has  frequently 
declined,  and  the  burden  of  taxation  has  been  more  justly  placed 
upon  the  citizen.  (2)  A permanent  county  or  local  office  of  assess- 
ment. In  the  Southern  States,  where  the  county  is  most  generally 
the  chief  unit  of  local  government,  this  office  should  he  as  wide  as 


16 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South. 


the  county  (or  parish,  in  Louisiana)  ; in  the  larger  towns  and  cities 
the  unit  of  assessment  should  he  the  municipality.  The  office, 
whether  of  the  county  or  municipality,  should  be  under  the  direc- 
tion and  supervision  of  the  State  tax  commission,  and  its  members 
should  be  selected  by  this  commission — at  least,  with  its  sanction. 
The  local  office  should  assess  all  the  taxables  in  its  territory  except 
those  of  State-wide  significance,  which  should  be  assessed  by  the 
State  tax  commission.  The  salary  of  the  chief  official  in  the  local 
office  should  be  large  enough  to  command  the  undivided  services  of 
a man  of  ability  and  courage.  Wherever  the  local  assessment  office 
has  been  permanent,  efficient  and  under  vital  supervision  by  a State 
tax  commission  or  commissioner,  it  has  resulted  in  larger  revenue 
to  the  State  and  more  justice  to  the  taxpayer. 

Such  machinery  of  assessment  would  work  well  in  the  Southern 
States,  where  the  constitutional  requirement  is,  with  the  exceptions 
of  Virginia  and  Georgia,  that  the  legislature  must  tax  all  kinds  of 
property  at  a.  uniform  ad  valorem  rate,  and  where  the  State,  county 
and  town  levy  practically  the  same  taxes.  It  would  work  well  in 
those  States  where  the  legislature  has  the  constitutional  right  to 
make  classes  of  taxables  and  to  levy  different  rates  upon  these  classes, 
as  it  may  do  in  about  a dozen  States,  as  it  does  notably  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Maryland.  It  would  work  well  in  those  States  which  have 
segregated  sources  of  revenue  for  the  different  units  of  administra- 
tion— the  State,  the  counties  and  the  municipalities. 

The  present  system  of  assessment  stands  for  inefficiency  and  in- 
justice; it  places  values  on  the  tax  books  unequally  in  the  same 
township,  county  and  State ; it  places  a penalty  upon  the  more  honest, 
conscientious  and  honorable  citizen;  it  penalizes  him  by  a heavier 
burden  of  taxation ; it  places  a penalty  upon  the  more  tangible  forms 
of  wealth,  upon  the  more  progressive  community  or  county. 

With  the  new  machinery  the  State  should  work  toward  some  classi- 
fication of  property  for  purpose  of  taxation.  The  experiences  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  with  a special  class  for  credits  prove, 
I think,  the  efficiency  and  justice  of  such  classification.  Credits 
and  moneys,  if  listed  at  all,  are  self  assessing,  while  the  value  of 
land,  etc.,  are  only  estimates,  and  these  estimates  vary  widely,  though 
honestly  made.  The  forest  as  a special  form  of  property  has  become 
so  important  as  to  demand  that  the  State  promote  its  growth  by 
making  it  a special  class  for  tax  purposes.  The  forest,  because  of  its 
influence  upon  climate,  its  ability  to  serve  as  a reservoir  for  the 
rainfall  and  the  fact  that  timber  has  become  so  fundamentally  im- 
portant in  the  cost  of  house  building,  should  be  fostered  and  pro- 
tected to  the  widest  possible  degree.  Forest  land  should,  I think, 
be  assessed  as  land,  and  its  timber  as  timber,  and  only  when  it  is 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South 


17 


cut  and  sold.  Tlie  question  of  the  classification  of  property  for  taxa- 
tion can,  however,  be  considered  only  in  terms  of  the  conditions  as 
they  exist  in  the  various  States. 

With  the  new  machinery,  the  question  of  segregating  the  sources 
of  revenue  for  the  different  imits  of  administration  could  he  worked 
out  according  to  the  conditions  in  the  various  States.  There  is 
now  a tendency  toward  making  the  taxes  on  franchises,  corporations, 
incomes,  and  inheritances  the  chief  source  of  State  revenue,  leaving 
to  the  counties,  townships,  school  districts  and  municipalities  the 
taxes  on  realty,  personalty  and  police  license.  Such  a tendency 
should,  however,  not  go  too  far,  and  should  not  be  without  a strong 
and  sure  guide.  The  State  must  always  be  a powerful  force  in  the 
administration  of  all  the  units  of  government  within  its  territory, 
though  each  unit  should  have  sufficient  independence  and  separate- 
ness to  enable  it  to  perform  jts  tasks  with  efficiency  and  justice. 


HOW  WEST  VIRGINIA  HAS  WORKED  OUT  THE  ASSESS- 
MENT PROBLEM. 

Fred  O.  Blue. 

Assessment  is  the  problem  of  direct  taxation.  West  Virginia  has 
not  yet  worked  out  that  problem.  We  claim,  however,  to  have  made 
much  progress  in  that  direction  in  recent  years.  Our  land,  our 
topography,  our  resources  and  our  industries  are  so  varied  that 
proper  assessment  for  taxation  is  a complex  and  difficult  under- 
taking. About  9,500  square  miles,  or  about  6,000,000  square  acres, 
of  the  State  are  underlaid  with  bituminous  coal  of  different  veins 
and  qualities,  and  we  are  the  second  State  in  production  of  coal. 
With  an  annual  production  of  207,000,000,000  cubic  feet  of  natural 
gas,  or  about  40  per  cent,  of  all  the  gas  produced  in  the  nation,  we 
are  first  of  all  the  States  in  the  production  thereof,  and  fourth  in 
value  of  crude  oil  produced.  Our  hills  and  mountains  are  covered 
with  splendid  timber  of  many  species.  We  have  valleys  rich,  fertile 
and  well  watered,  and  valleys  narrow,  poor  and  sterile;  a thousand 
hills  and  mountains  covered  with  native  blue  grass,  on  which  feed 
the  best  of  cattle,  and  also  the  steep,  barren,  rugged,  rocky  mountain 
standing  unproductive  in  its  grandeur.  Up  and  down  the  valleys, 
through  and  under  and  around  the  hills  and  mountains  are  the  rail- 
roads; over  the  hills  great  pipe  lines  carry  our  oil  and  gas.  The 
Eastern  Panhandle,  where  runs  the  silvery  Potomac,  has  the  finest 
fruit  lands  and  the  greatest  fruit  production  in  the  nation,  great 
quarries  of  limestone  and  prosperous  farms.  In  the  Northern  Pan- 


18 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South. 


handle,  the  Ohio,  the  Kanawha,  the  Monogahela  and  the  Greenbrier 
valleys,  great  mills  and  factories  where  some  toil  in  sweat  and  flame, 
while  others  farm  the  fertile  bottoms  and  graze  the  blue  grass  hills, 
while  others  dwell  in  the  great  towns  and  cities,  with  their  banks, 
markets,  and  avenues  of  commerce.  The  rapidly  growing  and  de- 
veloping southern  tier  of  counties,  with  their  superior  coal.  The 
central  and  eastern  counties  with  cloud  capped  mountains,  either 
covered  with  virgin  forests  or  stripped  to  nakedness ; the  little  cabin 
where  dwells  the  honest  toiler  on  the  stubborn  mountain  side,  or 
his  more  fortunate  brother  in  the  foothills  or  the  fertile  bottoms 
where  one  may  see  on  a single  farm  rich  grain  growing,  sheep  and 
cattle  grazing,  oil  and  gas  produced  and  coal  mined ! 

Does  not  assessment  in  West  Virginia  present  some  difficulties  ? 

I shall  discuss  my  subject  under  two  heads:  First,  change  of  the 
system;  second,  results  in  figures. 

Our  legislature  was  convened  by  Governor  White  in  extraordinary 
session  in  the  summer  of  1904,  to  consider  subjects  relating  to  taxa- 
tion and  revenue.  The  laws  enacted  at  such  session,  with  subsequent 
amendments,  constitute  our  present  system  of  taxation.  Among  the 
most  important  and  far-reaching  changes  in  our  laws  were:  (l)The 
creation  of  the  office  of  State  tax  commissioner;  (2)  change  in  the 
basis  of  valuation  from  the  “f air  cash  value”  to  the  “true  and  actual 
value;”  (3)  assessment  of  real  estate  from  every  ten  years  to  annual 
assessment  thereof ; (4)  making  each  county  a unit  for  assessment 
purposes ; that  is,  one  assessment  district  for  one  assessor,  with  suffi- 
cient assistants,  to  be  appointed  by  the  county  court,  upon  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  assessor;  (5)  the  assessor  to  follow  the  instructions 
of  the  State  tax  commissioner,  unless  contrary  to  law;  (6)  the 
assessor  to  assess  both  real  and  personal  property  and  to  make  out 
the  land  books;  (7)  the  establishment  of  boards  of  review  and  equali- 
zation in  each  of  the  several  counties;  (8)  requiring  reports  to  the 
State  tax  commissioner  from  all  public  service  corporations;  (9)  the 
Board  of  Public  Works  to  assess  the  property  of  all  public  service 
corporations  ; (10)  the  owner  of  property  to  make  affidavit  to  his 
return,  and  the  assessors  not  permitted  to  accept  the  return  without 
the  same  being  sworn  to;  (11)  forfeiture  of  a certain  per  cent,  of 
personal  property  for  failure  to  return  same  for  taxation;  (12) 
fixed  times  for  meetings  of  all  levying  bodies  to  fix  preliminary 
levies  and  publication  of  the  levies  and  the  valuation  upon  which 
the  same  were  to  be  based,  together  with  detail  statement  showing 
the  purposes  for  which  the  money  to  be  raised  shall  be  expended, 
with  the  right  to  any  citizen  or  the  State  tax  commissioner  to  he 
heard  in  protest  against  the  levy  or  any  item  included  in  the  estimate. 

Among  other  duties  of  the  State  tax  commissioner  are:  “To  see 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South. 


19 


that  the  laws  concerning  the  assessment  and  collection  of  all  taxes 
and  levies,  whether  of  the  State  or  of  any  county,  district  or  muni- 
cipal corporation  thereof,  are  faithfully  enforced.  To  this  end  he 
shall  advise  the  auditor  in  the  preparation  of  all  proper  form  and 
books  for  the  use  and  guidance  of  assessors,  and  shall  perform  all 
such  other  duties  as  may  be  required  by  law.  He  shall  from  time 
to  time  visit  the  several  counties,  * * * shall  inspect  the  work 

of  the  several  assessors.*  * * In  conference,  or  by  writing  or 

otherwise,  he  may  inquire  into  the  proceedings  of  any  such  officer, 
make  to  him  such  suggestions  respecting  the  discharge  of  his  duty 
as  may  seem  proper  and  shall  give  such  information  and  require 
such  action  as  will  tend  to  promote  full  and  just  assessment  through- 
out the  State  and  the  diligent  collection  of  all  taxes  and  levies.” 
The  State  tax  commissioner  thus  became  the  central  directing  energy 
in  the  assessment  of  property.  These  changes  in  the  laws  have 
brought  good  results.  Perhaps  I can  give  no  better  statement  of 
the  condition  relative  to  the  assessment  of  property  before  the  ses- 
sion of  1904  than  to  quote  from  the  first  report  of  Hon.  Charles  \Y. 
Pillion,  the  first  State  tax  commissioner  of  our  State,  wherein  he 
says : 


“Opposition  is  always  to  be  expected  in  any  method  of 
taxation,  and  especially  in  this  State,  where  for  twenty-five 
years  the  people  have  been  permitted  to  tax  themselves,  re- 
turning only  such  property,  and  at  such  valuations  as  the 
owner  deemed  prudent,  keeping  in  view  the  other  charitable 
demands  that  might  be  made  upon  him  during  the  year,  the 
assessing  officer  simply  passing  around  the  hat  and  accepting 
gratuitously  the  mites  cast  in.” 

The  time  limit  forbids  me  going  into  further  details  as  to  changes 
in  our  law  and  discussion  thereof.  Discussion  of  these  laws  would 
be  in  the  abstract.  We  come  now  to  the  second  proposition,  which 
shows  in  concrete  the  effect  of  our  laws  relative  to  assessment  of 
property,  and  expresses  what  we  have  accomplished  in  our  under- 
takings. 

In  1904,  the  last  year  of  the  old  system,  real  estate  in  West  Vir- 
ginia was  assessed  $168,000,000,  personal  property  $80,000,000  and 
public  utilities  $30,000,000,  a total  of  $278,000,000.  The  transi- 
tion period  from  the  old  to  the  new  was  during  the  years  1903  and 
1906.  In  1906  real  estate  was  assessed  $475,000,000,  an  increase 
of  $307,000,000;  personal  property  was  assessed  $194,000,000,  an 
increase  of  $114,000,000;  public  service  property  was  assessed 
$209,000,000,  an  increase  of  $179,000,000,  making  a total  increase 


20 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South . 


of  the  assessed  valuation  of  property  in  the  State  of  $600,000,000. 
The  total  assessed  valuation  of  all  property  in  the  State  in  1904  was 
$278,000,000,  and  the  assessed  valuation  of  the  same  property  in 
1906  was  $878,000,000.  The  assessed  valuation  of  the  same  prop- 
erty in  1912  was  $1,168,000,000,  distributed  as  follows:  Real  estate, 
$634,000,000 ; personal  proptry,  $239,000,000 ; public  service  prop- 
erty, $295,000,000.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that  there  has  been  a 
natural  increase  in  the  valuation  of  property  in  the  State  during 
the  years  from  1904  to  1912,  yet  the  material  increase  in  the  value 
thereof  for  assessment  purposes  has  been  mainly  because  of  more 
efficient  methods  in  use,  growing  out  of  the  change  in  our  laws  relat- 
ing to  assessment  of  property. 

In  1904  the  average  tax  rate  in  West  Virginia  was  $2.15  for  all 
purposes  on  every  $100  valuation;  in  1912  the  average  tax  rate  in 
the  State  for  all  purposes,  including  municipalities,  was  85  cents  on 
every  $100  valuation.  This  rate  of  85  cents  represents  the  average 
rate  during  the  last  six  years. 

To  throw  further  light  upon  this  subject  and  to  illustrate  the 
results  of  more  efficient  assessment  of  property  in  the  State,  atten- 
tion is  called  to  this:  In  1904  $2,095,000  was  the  aggregate  levy 
for  district  school  purposes  by  local  school  boards,  and  to  raise  this 
amount  a levy  of  75  cents  on  each  $100  valuation  was  necessary. 
In  1912  $4,582,000  was  the  aggregate  levy  for  district  school  pur- 
poses by  local  school  boards,  and  to  raise  this  amount  a levy  of  39 
cents  on  every  $100  valuation  was  necessary.  To  have  raised  in 
1912  the  amount  necessary  for  the  year,  upon  the  valuation  of  prop- 
erty for  1904,  even  allowing  and  adding  to  such  valuations  the  natural 
increase  for  each  subsequent  year,  would  have  required  a levy  of 
$1.24  upon  every  $100  valuation  of  property.  These  few  figures, 
illustrating  in  concrete  form  the  effect  of  our  efforts  to  work  out  the 
assessment  problem,  speak  more  to  the  point  than  any  other  language 
I can  employ.  What  is  true  in  respect  to  our  levies  for  school  pur- 
poses is  only  illustrative  of  the  benefits  we  are  getting  in  all  other 
lines,  such  as  county  and  municipal  taxation. 

Just  one  other  illustration  of  figures,  and  I am  through:  In  1904 
the  State  laid  a direct  tax  of  25  cents  for  State  purposes,  and  10  cents 
for  school  purposes,  making  a total  direct  tax  collected  by  the  State 
of  35  cents  upon  every  $100  valuation.  In  1912  the  State,  for  all 
purposes,  laid  a direct  tax  of  1 cent  upon  every  $100  valuation,  and 
returned  to  her  public  schools  a much  larger  sum,  under  the  1 cent 
direct  tax,  than  she  gave  to  the  schools  in  1904. 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South. 


21 


REFORMS  IN  ASSESSMENT  IN  THE  SOUTHERN 

STATES. 

Charles  Lee  Raper. 

Reforms  in  the  assessment  system  must,  I think,  be  made  in  two 
directions:  (1)  Toward  a permanent  and  efficient  State  office  of 
assessment — a State  tax  commissioner  or  commission,  which  pos- 
sesses exceptional  ability  and  large  powers  over  all  assessments  and 
over  all  officers  of  assessment;  (2)  toward  a permanent  and  efficient 
county  or  municipal  office  of  assessment. 

What  movements  in  these  two  directions  are  now  in  progress  in 
the  South  ? Let  me  answer  with  a brief  statement  concerning  assess- 
ment in  the  various  States. 


I. 

(1)  Virginia  has  had  no  State-wide  office  for  the  supervision  of 
the  work  of  assessment  or  the  equalization  of  assessments.  There 
has  been  a State  Auditor  of  Public  Accounts  who  has  had  the  power 
to  issue  general  instructions  to  the  local  officers  of  assessment,  but 
he  has  in  no  vital  way  directed  or  supervised  their  work.  The  need 
of  State  direction  and  supervision  is,  however,  coming  to  be  recog- 
nized. The  legislature  in  1910  provided  for  the  appointment  of  a 
special  commission  to  consider  the  question  of  reform  in  assessment 
and  taxation.  This  commission  appointed  Dr.  Douglas  S.  Freeman 
as  its  expert,  and,  largely  through  him,  made  an  exhaustive  and 
highly  valuable  investigation.  Its  report  and  recommendations  were 
submitted  near  the  end  of  1911.  It  recommended  that  the  legislature 
create  a permanent,  non-paid  tax  commission,  composed  of  nine  exist- 
ing State  officials,  with  a paid  executive  officer — a State  tax  com- 
missioner— and  that  this  State  body  should  be  yested  with  ample 
powers  to  direct  and  supervise  all  the  work  of  assessment.  It  was 
suggested  that,  after  the  assessment  system  had  been  made  effective, 
the  legislature  might  consider  the  problem  of  segregating  the  sources 
of  State  and  local  revenues,  and  perhaps,  of  making  classifications 
of  property  for  tax  purposes.  Little  has,  however,  been  done  toward 
enacting  the  excellent  recommendations  into  laws,  and  Virginia  is 
still  far  from  an  effective  system  of  assessment. 

(2)  North  Carolina  has  had  since  1891  a State-wide  body  for  the 
assessment  of  public  service  property — from  1891  to  1898  a rail- 
road commission,  since  1898  a State  Corporation  Commission.  The 
corporation  commission  has  since  1901  served  as  a State  tax  com- 


22 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South. 


mission  and  a State  board  of  equalization,  as  well  as  a State  bank 
commission.  Its  work  in  assessing  the  public  service  corporation, 
banks,  etc.,  has  been  done  with  considerable  efficiency,  but  it  has 
never  done  anything  toward  equalization  of  assessments  among  the 
counties  and  townships  of  the  State.  The  legislature  which  has  just 
adjourned  gave  much  heed  to  the  demands  for  a separate  and  well- 
paid  tax  commission.  The  finance  committee  incorporated  such  a 
plan  in  the  regular  assessment  bill ; the  Senate  was,  I think,  ready  to 
adopt  the  plan;  the  lower  house  refused  to  make  into  a law  this 
section  of  the  bill.  The  chief  reason  for  the  action  of  the  House 
was,  I think,  the  fact  that  it  had  been  agreed  that  a constitutional 
amendment  should  be  submitted  to  the  voters  within  the  next  two 
years,  which  would,  if  ratified  vest  in  the  legislature  the  right  to 
change  the  whole  system  of  taxation  and  assessment.  ISTorth  Caro- 
lina is,  therefore,  on  the  point  of  some  important  reform. 

(3)  South  Carolina  has  had  no  State  tax  commission  or  com- 
missioner, and  there  is  now  a slight  movement  toward  such  a body, 
though  the  comptroller  general  has  for  years  advocated  its  creation. 
There  has  been  a State  board  of  equalization,  composed  of  the  chair- 
man of  the  county  boards  of  equalization.  But  this  board  has  met 
only  once  in  four  years,  to  equalize  the  assessments  of  realty  among 
the  various  counties.  It  has  been  non-expert  in  its  composition,  and 
its  pay  has  been  insignificant  ($3.00  a day  for  a few  days)  and  it 
has  only  perfunctorily,  if  at  all,  equalized  assessments.  There  has 
also  been  a State  board  of  assessors,  composed  of  regular  State  offi- 
cials, for  the  assessment  of  the  public  service  corporations.  The 
chief  State  officer  of  assessment  has  been  the  comptroller-general. 
He  has  issued  instructions  to  the  county  auditors;  he  has  assessed 
the  licensnse  fees  due  from  foreign  corporations  owning  property 
or  using  their  capital  in  South  Carolina ; he  has  heard  complaints 
from  persons  illegally  or  erroneously  taxed,  and  appeals  from  the 
county  boards  of  equalization.  He  has,  however,  had  little  influence 
toward  securing  efficient  or  equitable  assessment, 

(4)  Georgia  has  no  State  tax  commission  or  commissioner,  and 
there  is  little  force  demanding  the  creation  of  such  a State-wide 
office.  The  comptroller-general  of  the  State  has  assessed  the  public 
service  corporations,  but  his  assessments  have  been  subject  to  arbitra- 
tion, in  case  the  corporation  has  demanded  it.  In  all  cases  of  such 
arbitration  the  comptroller  has  chosen  a member  of  the  State  rail- 
road commission  to  act  as  the  State’s  representative.  The  comptroller 
has  also  had  some  power  over  other  assessments,  but  he  has  not 
secured  anything  like  equalization  of  assessments  among  the  various 
counties  of  the  State.  Georgia  has  really  had  no  equalization  of 
assessment. 


23 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South. 


(5)  Florida,  like  Georgia  lias  liad  no  State  tax  commission  or 
commissioner,  and  there  is  at  present  slight  prospect  of  the  creation 
of  such  an  office  in  the  near  future.  The  comptroller  of  the  State 
has  exercised  some  general  supervision  over  the  county  assessors. 
He  and  two  other  regular  State  officials  have  constituted  a State 
hoard  of  assessors  for  the  public  service,  and  their  work  has  been 
done  with  fair  success.  He  has,  however,  had  no  effective  influence 
in  securing  equalization  of  assessment  among  the  counties.  There 
has,  in  fact,  been  no  State  equalization  of  assessments. 

(6)  In  Alabama,  prior  to  1897-1900,  the  auditor  of  the  State  was 
the  only  State-wide  official  who  had  any  control  over  assessment, 
and  his  control  was  nominal.  The  office  of  State  tax  commissioner 
(of  back  taxes)  was  now  created,  in  order  that  the  Seate  treasury 
might  secure  more  revenue.  The  commissioner  was  to  be  appointed 
by  the  Governor  for  a term  of  four  years,  and  he  was  to  receive 
$2,400  a year.  In  1910  the  legislature  provided  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a State  tax  commission  of  three  members.  They  were  to  he 
appointed  by  the  Governor,  and  could  be  removed  by  him,  with  or 
without  cause.  The  commission  was  given  full  powers  of  equaliza- 
tion of  assessments  among  the  counties,  and  large  powers  over  the 
local  officers  of  assessment.  The  tax  commission  was  to  assess  only 
the  franchises  of  the  public  service;  a special  State  board  of  four 
members  should  assess  their  property.  Alabama  has,  therefore, 
taken  a far  step  toward  efficiency  and  justice  in  assessment. 

(7)  Mississippi  has  had  no  State  tax  commission  or  commissioner 
and  no  State  board  of  equalization.  There  has  been  great  inequality 
of  assessment  between  the  various  counties.  The  State  railroad  com- 
mission has  assessed  the  public  service  corporations  with  a fair 
degree  of  equality.  The  inefficiency  of  the  assessment  of  the  other 
property  has  been  well  marked.  But  there  is  now  reasonable  hope 
that  at  an  early  date  a State  tax  commission  or  commissioner  will 
be  created.  A bill  providing  for  such  an  office  had  considerable  sup- 
port at  the  last  session  of  the  legislature. 

(8)  Louisiana  has  had  no  directing  or  supervising  State  official 
or  board,  and  there  is  no  important  movement  toward  the  creation  of 
such  machinery  of  assessment.  In  1910  a State  board  of  equaliza- 
tion was  formed.  It  was  authorized  to  issue  instructions  to  the 
parish  assessors  and  to  examine  yearly  the  abstracts  of  assessments 
filed  by  the  parish  assessors  with  the  State  auditor.  It  was  em- 
powered to  summon  the  assessor  to  appear  before  it  and  explain  his 
assessments.  This  board  has  had  some  success  in  equalizing  assess- 
ments among  the  parishes  of  the  State. 

(9)  In  Tennessee  the  comptroller  of  the  State  treasury  has  been 
the  supervisor  of  assessments,  but  his  influence  has  not  secured 


24 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South . 


equal  or  efficient  assessment.  He,  the  State  treasurer  and  secretary 
of  State,  have  for  a number  of  years  constituted  a State  hoard  of 
equalization.  They  have  had  their  other  tasks,  and  they  have 
done  little  toward  equalization  of  assessment  among*  the  various 
counties.  The  public  service  corporations  have  been  assessed  by  the 
State  railroad  commission.  .V  bill  is  now  pending  in  the  legislature 
for  the  creation  of  a State  tax  commission,  with  the  possibility  of 
early  passage. 

(10)  West  Virginia,  like  practically  all  our  States,  long  had  an 
ineffective  and  inequitable  system  of  local  assessment.  A radical 
change  was  made  in  1904-705  toward  one  of  the  most  effective  sys- 
tems of  assessment  in  the  United  States.  The  legislature  now  created 
the  office  of  State  tax  commissioner,  authorized  the  Governor  to  ap- 
point for  a term  of  six  years  a man  of  ability  and  character,  and 
provided  him  a salary  of  $4,000  a year.  He  was  made  independent 
of  politics ; he  could  not  be  reappointed,  and  he  could  not  be  removed 
except  for  incompetence  or  malfeasance.  He  was  given  large  power 
over  the  whole  system  of  assessments  by  the  counties.  The  results 
have  been  excellent:  (1)  An  increase  in  assessments  from  $278,- 
000,000  in  1904  (under  the  old  system)  to  $1,063,000,000  in  1909; 
(2)  a decrease  in  the  tax  rate  for  State,  county,  school,  road  and 
town  purposes  from  an  average  of  $2.15  per  $100  in  1904  to  85 
cents  in  1909. 

II. 

Reforms  in  the  local  machinery  have  been  few  and  of  slight  im- 
portance, and  may  be  seen  from  the  following  statement  : 

(1)  Virginia  has  had  no  State  equalization  of  assesment  between 
the  various  counties,  and  there  has  been  practically  none  within  the 
county.  The  work  of  assessment  has  been  performed  by  commis- 
sioners of  the  revenue  or  by  assessors  of  land.  The  commissioners 
have  been  elected  for  a term  of  four  years,  from  one  to  four  in  each 
county  and  one  in  each  town.  The  assessors  of  land  have  been 
chosen  every  five  years.  There  has  been  but  the  slightest  change  in 
the  system  of  assessment  for  many  years. 

(2)  North  Carolina  has  long  had  the  township  as  the  unit  of 
assessment.  The  county  commissioners  have  chosen  one  list-taker  or 
assessor  for  each  township ; in  the  reassessment  year,  every  fourth, 
three.  The  list-takers  have  received  the  pay  of  $2.00  or  $3.00  a day 
for  a few  days  in  the  year.  There  has  been  a nominal  board  of 
equalization  in  each  county,  hut  it  lias  never  really  equalized  the 
assessments  within  the  townships  or  the  county. 

(3)  South  Carolina  has  for  a number  of  years  had  a permanent 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South. 


25 


county  auditor,  who  has  had  general  supervision  of  assessment  in  his 
county,  and  who  in  some  counties  has  himself  assessed  the  local 
property.  In  most  of  the  counties  the  work  of  assessment  has  been 
done  by  a township  board  of  assessors  or  a board  of  commissioners 
and  by  a town  board  of  assessors,  who  have  worked  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  county  auditor,  and  whose  pay  had  been  about  $2.00 
a day  for  only  a few  days  in  the  year.  There  has  been  a county 
board  of  equalization,  of  different  composition  at  different  times, 
and  whose  clerk  has  been  the  county  auditor. 

(4)  Georgia  has  for  years  had  the  county  tax  receiver,  who  has 
been  an  elective  officer,  and  who  has  assessed  all  the  property  except 
the  public  service,  subject  to  new  valuation  by  a board  of  arbitrators 
in  case  the  owner  should  demand  it.  There  has  been  no  county 
equalization  of  assessment. 

(5)  In  Flordia  the  county  assessor  and  his  assistant,  in  case  he 
has  one,  have  made  the  assessment  of  property.  Where  there  have 
been  assistant  assessors,  the  county  assessor  has  directed  and  super- 
vised their  work.  The  county  commissioners  have  served  as  a board 
of  equalization  and  of  review,  in  case  the  assessor  and  his  assistants 
could  not  agree  in  their  review. 

(6)  Alabama  has  had  an  elective  county  assessor.  His  assess- 
ments have  remained  unchanged  unless  the  owner  of  the  property 
has  appealed  to  the  court  of  the  county.  There  has  been  no  real  equal- 
ization of  assessment  in  the  county.  Equalization  between  the  coun- 
ties has  not,  until  recently,  been  anything  but  nominal,  and  the  State 
tax  commission  has,  I think,  not  yet  made  a large  success  of  State 
equalization. 

(7)  In  Mississippi  the  county  assessor  has  been  without  any  vital 
State  supervision.  His  assessments  have  been  supervised  by  county 
supervisors  of  assessment,  who  have  acted  as  a county  board  of  equali- 
zation, and  who  have  achieved  some  success  in  equalizing  the  assess- 
ment of  the  county. 

(8)  Louisiana  has  had  the  parish  assessor,  whose  assessments 
have  been  reviewed  by  a parish  board  and  whose  assessment  abstracts 
have  been  reviewed  since  1910  by  a State  board  of  equalization. 

(9)  In  Tennessee  the  unit  of  assessment  has,  since  1907,  been 
the  county.  Before  that  date  it  was  the  civil  district  or  the  county. 
The  county  assessor  in  Tennessee  has,  unlike  his  prototype  in  other 
Southern  States,  received  a fair  remuneration  for  his  work — from 
$4,000  down,  depending  upon  the  population  of  his  county.  He  has, 
therefore,  been  a permanent  officer.  He  has  had  the  power  to  appoint 
deputy  assessors,  in  case  of  necessity.  There  has  also  been  a nominal 
countv  hoard  of  equalization. 

(10)  West  Virginia  has  had,  since  1904-’05  a permanent  assessor 


26 


Conference  for  Education  in  the  South , 


for  each  county,  with  a permanent  office  and  with  a salary  ranging 
from  $2,100  to  $1,000.  He  has  worked  under  the  direction  and 
supervision  of  the  State  tax  commissioner.  He  has  had  from  two 
to  four  assistants,  with  pay  from  $300  to  $600  a year.  Assessment 
in  West  Virginia  has,  since  the  reform,  been  comparatively  equal 
and  effective. 


RESOLUTION  FAVORING  TAX  COMMISSION. 

The  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Con- 
ference on  Taxation: 


“Resolved,  That  where  conditions  are  such  as  to  insure 
the  selection  of  efficient  and  non-partisan  members,  a per- 
manent State  tax  commissioner  or  commission,  with  ample 
power  of  supervising  and  equalizing  assessments,  is  the  first 
essential  step  towards  efficient  and  equitable  taxation,  and  that 
such  commissioner  or  commission  is  necessary,  whether  a 
program  of  separation  of  State  and  local  revenue  he  followed 
or  not. 


METHOD  OF  RAISING  AND  APPORTIONING  SCHOOL 

FUNDS. 

J.  y.  Joyner. 

Hon.  J.  Y.  Joyner,  representing  the  State  Superintendents  of 
Public  Instruction,  submitted  the  following  resolutions  to  the  Con- 
ference, which  were  discussed  and  adopted : 

“Resolved,  1.  That  the  best  interests  of  the  schools  require 
that  funds  should  be  appropriated  by  the  State  and  should 
not  be  subject  to  the  changing  or  fluctuating  policies  of  dif- 
ferent legislatures,  but  should  be  fixed  by  constitutional  rather 
than  statutory  provision,  and  should  be  based  upon  either  a 
milage  valuation  or  some  specific  proportion  of  the  total  State 
income  from  taxes. 

“2.  That  we  favor  a constitutional  State  and  county  tax 
for  public  schools  sufficient  to  provide  not  less  than  a seven 
months’  term  in  every  public  school,  the  State  tax  to  be 


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Conference  for  Education  in  the  South . 


apportioned  from  the  State  treasury  to  the  various  counties, 
and  the  county  tax  to  remain  in  the  county  where  it  is 
collected. . 

“3.  That  we  favor  a voluntary  urban  and  rural  district 
school  tax,  supplementary  to  the  State  and  county  tax,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  schools  of  the  district  in  which  it  is  voted. 

Basis  of  Apportionment. 

“It  is  agreed  that  the  State  school  fund  should  be  appar- 
tioned  upon  the  basis  of  average  school  attendance  instead  of 
the  total  school  population.” 


